America’s Cup: Naples kicks off the countdown to a business venture worth over a billion
From 24 to 27 September, the second phase of the preliminary regattas will take place in the Gulf of Naples, with the teams competing in the AC40s
In Piazza Vittoria, overlooking the Gulf of Naples, the hands of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup clock officially began to tick yesterday: there are 290 days to go until the America’s Cup and 241 days until the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger races, which get underway on 22 May 2027.
With the countdown launch ceremony, attended by the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, the Mayor and Commissioner for Bagnoli, Gaetano Manfredi, and senior representatives from Sport e Salute and the America’s Cup Partnership, Naples thus marked the symbolic transition from the planning phase to the operational phase of the world’s oldest sailing event.
Following the launch of ‘Road to Naples’ in Cagliari in May – where a public investment of around 7 million is estimated to have generated an economic impact of 50 million – from tomorrow until 27 September, the teams’ AC40s (smaller boats than those set to take to the water in 2027) will compete between Castel dell’Ovo and Posillipo during the second phase of the preliminary races.
The stakes are high for Naples. According to estimates compiled by the Ministry of Tourism and the Luiss Business School, the economic impact of the America’s Cup could exceed 690 million by July 2027 and reach 1.2 billion in the medium to long term. This outlook is fuelled by growth in tourist numbers, infrastructure investment and the extraordinary media exposure that will accompany the competition. The first signs are already evident. In September alone, up to 2.2 million visitors are expected in the city, around half of whom will be from abroad. The America’s Cup, moreover, forms part of a process of international repositioning for Naples, which is attracting new market segments – from conference tourism to luxury travel and high-end yachting – with effects that will hopefully extend well beyond the days of the regattas.
At the heart of this legacy, however, lies Bagnoli. Here, the America’s Cup coincides with one of the country’s most significant urban regeneration programmes. Dredging of the seabed is now 80 per cent complete, marine works are proceeding according to schedule, and the teams’ bases are taking on their final form. Overall, the regeneration plan is mobilising resources totalling around 1.7 billion, covering remediation, infrastructure and redevelopment works.
